One of the persistent propaganda myths about using nuclear energy is that hypothetical accidents that release radioactive material will have dire consequences that render vast areas of land uninhabitable for centuries. It is a good thing for wolves, deer, and boars that they cannot read antinuclear propaganda or watch television. You see, we have done…
New Data Supports Previous Fairewinds Analysis, as Contamination Spreads in Japan and Worldwide from Fairewinds Associates on Vimeo. In his most recent video, Arnie Gundersen calmly, but inaccurately, explains why people should remain fearful of extremely low levels of radiation and radioactive materials. He sounds so knowledgeable and is so often quoted by people who…
On March 16, five days after the Fukushima Daiichi reactors were shutdown in the wake of a large earthquake that was followed by a tsunami, Gregory Jaczko, the Chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, announced that he was recommending that all Americans within fifty miles of the nuclear power station evacuate the area. That…
President Jimmy Carter, was born on October 1, 1924 into a family that developed a depressingly high rate of pancreatic cancer. His father, brother and two sisters died of the disease, and his mother also suffered from it. Alone among his siblings, Jimmy, now 86 years old, escaped that fate and attributes his good health…
The overreaction and stoked fears about the events at Fukushima continues. One month ago today, I wrote an article titled Nuclear plant issues in Japan are the least of their worries that exposed my ignorance of the differences between various kinds of containment designs and was a bit too optimistic about the eventual releases of…
Though there is still a lot of work to do in completely stabilizing the situation at Fukushima Daiichi, and that effort is not made any easier by the strong aftershocks that continue to occur, it is not too early to begin thinking about ways to assist in the long term effort to ensure public safety….
A couple of days ago, I wrote about the difference between detectable radiation or contamination and dangerous levels of the same two widely discussed phenomena. Aside: Many people remain confused about the difference between radiation and contamination. If you will forgive an old sailor for some blunt language, here is how one of my early…
Arnie Gundersen, a self-described expert witness, testified in front of the Vermont Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee earlier this week. The topic of the testimony was the discovery of tritiated water in groundwater monitoring wells located within 100 feet of the power plant and its associated buildings. A secondary topic was speculation about the…
With the recent frantic coverage of the GAO’s “sting” of Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensing procedures, the phrase “dirty bomb” is again being thrown about in the popular press. I thought it was time to make the following piece readily available in another location. You might be able to find a similar document somewhere else on…